Currently there is no legislation or specific policy on how or when a victim’s name is given to the accused by police.

This has led to campaigners claiming victims of serious sexual crimes by strangers are being put in unnecessary danger by having their identities disclosed to the accused.

According to Rape Crisis one in ten rapes are committed by strangers but campaigners say measures should cover all sexual assault cases to protect victims.

Now before the House of Lords, the draft amendment to the policing and crime bill proposes an end to police disclosing the identity of a victim or witness of a serious sexual or violent offence to the person accused of the offence, if it is reasonable to assume that such a disclosure would put the victim or witness at risk of further harm.

Previous convictions, mental health and access to technology should all be taken into account by officers, whether or not the person has been charged.

At present, police protocol allows officers to give a victim’s name to a suspect, sometimes at the point of arrest or the start of an investigation. It is claimed that an alleged assailant could use this information to discover where the victim lives or works.

The amendment was drafted by voice4victims and put down by Plaid Cymru’s Dafydd Wigley.

By far the most extreme and lasting violation was the handing over of my identity to the one person in the world I would do anything to remain a stranger toMel

One victim of a serious sexual assault told a voice4victims event at the House of Lords that her name had been disclosed without her knowledge or consent to the stranger perpetrator at the time of him being charged.

She said: “My question is a simple one. How did divulging my name help in the interests of justice in this case and many others like it? There are other ways to identify a victim to a perpetrator that don’t have any lasting traumatic consequences.

“Despite the attack I experienced – the violation of my body and mind, the trips in and out of hospital and the trauma of the court trial – by far the most extreme and lasting violation was the handing over of my identity to the one person in the world I would do anything to remain a stranger to.

“It isn’t good enough to say everyone regardless of circumstance has a right to know the name of their accuser.”

The proposal, which is due to be debated in the House of Lords early next month, could be challenged on the basis that it contravenes a defendant’s right to know who is accusing them, which is a key legal principle.